Week 5: Defining the "Dream"

Me looking scary with the flyer.

This week the Women's Resources Center hosted a workshop titled, "Finding Your Dream Job." Of course this was a fairly relevant topic for any college student, so I was surprised to see that only a few people (apart from Courtney, Roshni and myself) attended. I suppose one could easily find a boatload of information on the topic from the comfort of their own room, but there was something nice about having a small, intimate discussion in a warm and welcoming place complete with cookies.

The great thing about the small turnout was that it became more personalized towards our individual concerns, rather than just being about discovering our "dream jobs". After briefly introducing ourselves, our speaker from the Career Center, Amanda Cox, dove right in to help address any anxieties that we were facing - from giving pointers on how to handle a phone interview to helping an unsure freshman find a niche for herself. 

List of Things You Should Remember:

• You don't have to be perfect to get an internship.
• After sophomore year, leave out the high school stuff in resumes.
• Practice "The Elevator Pitch" - the brief intro about yourself. 
• Research businesses/employers beforehand.
• Show that you've done your homework.
• Remember that employers are human beings, too.
• Try to go early to career fairs. (The later you go, the more tired they will be.)
• It's always best to overdress than under dress in these situations.   
• At career fairs, don't go to your No. 1 choice first. Visit other booths first to get practice.
• Write out any questions you have beforehand. 
• "What do you like most about working here?" 
• "How did you get into the field/break into the industry?"
• Get your resume reviewed at The Career Center, or with advisors
• Attend on campus events such as "Pizza and a Professional" to hear about careers that interest you.
• Don't forget the employer's business card. 
• Email them later to thank them for coming.
• Jot some notes down to help you remember that person/multiple people.

The STAR Method:

If asked a behavioral-based interview question, think of the following.

S - set the scene, talk about the situation

T - task you were trying to achieve

A - action that you took

R - result or positive outcomes

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Now back to the original topic of the "dream job." 

Interests vs. Skills vs. Values

-what you like to do---what you're good at doing---what's important to you-

In a nutshell, if you can find the perfect marriage between these 3 things...then you may have found your dream job. What's important to remember is that the path to finding it is not always clear-cut. As demonstrated in the slide above, Cox told us about the twists and turns that happened to her before she finally got to where she is today. At the end of the day, the dream job is all about you. There may be times in your career path where you could earn more money, but hate what you're doing. You don't want to be that person that wakes up Monday morning wanting to write this on the walls:

  Image from slacktory.com